Monthly Archives: March 2016
March 28, 2016 — Scott Johnson
Gee, what could possibly cause “violent extremism”? The New York Times is stumped. Matt Apuzzo reports: “Who will become a terrorist? Research yields few clues.” Few clues, indeed. Let’s file this in the annals of cluelessness: “After all this funding and this flurry of publications, with each new terrorist incident we realize that we are no closer to answering our original question about what leads people to turn to political
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March 27, 2016 — Paul Mirengoff
The Washington Post has published a lengthy article by Robert O’Harrow, Jr. called “How Clinton’s Email Scandal Took Root.” Much of the article covers ground familiar to those who are following this saga. However, the story is still worth reading. For one thing, it illuminates Clinton’s motive for using a private device. O’Harrow writes: The scandal has pitted those who say Clinton was innocently trying to find the easiest way
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March 27, 2016 — Steven Hayward
The grasping rent-seekers of subsidies and mandates for wind and solar power have been sniping at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) for supposedly overestimating the costs of wind and solar power compared to coal- and gas-fired power, and underestimating the growth of wind and solar. EIA does a terrific job of data gathering and analysis, even if some of their work requires great care, such as
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March 27, 2016 — John Hinderaker
In Lahore, Pakistan, a Muslim associated with the Taliban bombed a park where Christians were celebrating Easter, murdering at least 69, mostly women and children, while injuring more than 300 more. A spokesman for the terrorist group explained, “Members of the Christian community who were celebrating Easter today were our prime target.” President Obama, meanwhile, warns us against “stigmatizing” Muslims. (To be fair, his precise reference was to Muslim-Americans, although
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March 27, 2016 — Paul Mirengoff
President Obama didn’t just tango during his visit to Argentina. He also addressed a Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative meeting. During his remarks, Obama stumbled through an embarrassing discourse on “capitalism vs. communism.” The would-be leader of what used to be called the Free World treated the issue as just another false choice, sort of the way he used to speak of Red States and Blue States before he
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March 27, 2016 — Scott Johnson
On Wednesday Hillary Clinton gave her previously scheduled speech on counterterrorism at Stanford University. The Brussels attacks had taken place the day before. She both commented on the attacks and criticized Donald Trump and Ted Cruz in the course of her remarks, the C-SPAN video of which is posted below and here. Her speech was treated seriously as a major statement of policy by the news outlets, but it was
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March 27, 2016 — Steven Hayward
Last night it was all over the news that a planned rally against fear today in Brussels had to be canceled because of . . . fear. Not enough security available to allow it to go forward. This really is a literal case of the terrorists winning. Another leading French intellectual, Bernard Henri-Levy, gave an interview to the BBC on Thursday that is very bracing in its conclusion that “Europe
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March 27, 2016 — Scott Johnson
I’m in the “relax and enjoy it” phase of Donald Trump’s candidacy for the GOP nomination. If he wins it, so be it. His prospects are certainly good, but I rate his chance of winning the general election as asymptotically approaching zero. All I can do is observe the scene honestly. I won’t enjoy watching the damage that Trump’s candidacy will do to the Republican Party in the general election,
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March 27, 2016 — Scott Johnson
If John were here, he would mark the holiday today including the exclamation point in the heading. This is what he wrote last year, still timely: Happy Easter…to our Christian friends and readers. Last week in Sunday School, a boy asked why the Easter Bunny delivers eggs since rabbits don’t lay eggs, and anyway, what do eggs and rabbits have to do with Easter? So I explained about Easter, springtime,
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March 26, 2016 — Paul Mirengoff
Bernie Sanders won two caucuses tonight, both resoundingly. In Washington State, he leads Hillary Clinton 72-28. In Alaska, it’s even more one-sided. Sanders is getting 81 percent of the vote up there. Hawaii is also holding its caucuses tonight. Sanders is expected to win that contest, as well. Washington will send 101 delegates to the Democratic convention. Hawaii and Alaska will send 25 and 16, respectively. As I understand it,
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March 26, 2016 — Paul Mirengoff
The pattern has been the same throughout this campaign season. After each big primary, I look at the polling for the next major contest — e.g., Florida, South Carolina, or Michigan — and see Donald Trump leading by around 15 points. As the primary approaches, there is talk that the gap might be narrowing, and on election day we hear that the late voters have broken in favor of a
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March 26, 2016 — Steven Hayward
Larry Wilmore at Comedy Central’s “Nightly Show” offers up a five-minute segment on what fools Emory University has made of itself with its outrage over the “Trump 2016” chalk marks. Worth a watch here. (Trigger warning: Wilmore uses the “n-word”! But it’s okay because he’s a comic, and they can do that.) Best part: “I had no idea I went to a school with people who had. . . different
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March 26, 2016 — Scott Johnson
In “Judging the ‘Minnesota men,'” I wrote about Judge Michael Davis’s experimental sentencing program in the Minnesota ISIS wannabe cases. Based on Andy McCarthy’s comments on the program (quoted in the article), I’m skeptical of it. Yet I like and respect Judge Davis. He has capably handled the Somali terrorism cases for several years now. I think it’s fair to say that he doesn’t suffer fools gladly. (The thumbnail photograph
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March 26, 2016 — Scott Johnson
I attended the first two nights of the great Shawn Colvin at the Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant in downtown Minneapolis on Thursday and Friday. I’ll be back when she winds up her three-night run tonight. Having taken five or six months off from performing live, Shawn is at the top of her form. She is relaxed, engaging, warm, funny, emotional and utterly riveting. The layoff seems to have refreshed
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March 26, 2016 — Scott Johnson
The sight of chalked messages proclaiming Trump 2016 around the Emory University campus has allegedly induced unbearable suffering among some 40 to 50 of the students. These students have brought their suffering to the attention of Emory President Wagner with the demand that he do something about it. I took a quick look at the doings on campus in “At Emory, a trail of Trump tears.” Emory University Professor Harvey
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March 26, 2016 — Steven Hayward
Judging from the early reviews, the new “Superman vs. Batman” movie is an idea even worse than a hypothetical “Star Trek vs. Star Wars” movie mash-up. Which would be pointless, as everyone know James T. Kirk would kick Han Solo’s butt, and Spock’s mind meld is superior to Obi-Wan’s Jedi mind tricks. Speaking of pointy-eared aliens, couldn’t Obama have made his Cuba sojourn a one-way trip, since it’s clearly his
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March 25, 2016 — Steven Hayward
On the evening news tonight I saw the reports on how Hollywood and politically correct corporations are blasting North Carolina for passing a state law that is ostensibly aimed at eliminating local non-discrimination laws for LGBT people, though the proximate issue is “bathroom equity,” that is, allowing anyone to use any gender bathroom regardless of his or her physical anatomy and going simply on how he or she “self-identifies.” Which
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